Chapter 194 (Patreon)

Far above the deciduous trees that surrounded this backyard field, Altaria flew in wide-ranging circles while Iris's Dragonite kept in pace with a weak but constant Extreme Speed. The much larger, Pseudo-Legendary Dragon Type was putting in a lot of effort to stay in the front despite its attempt to pretend it wasn't interested in a race. Meanwhile, Altaria’s expression was blank, but he was furiously trying to outpace the flying Pokémon besides him.

"I just don't get it," Iris mumbled as she stared up at the two flying Dragon Pokémon. "Altaria isn't a Fairy Type. ...Right?"

She lifted up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, and I held back a laugh at the sight of her confusion. Staring at Altaria, it seemed that Iris couldn't decide between being annoyed or being impressed.

"You're right, actually," I said, causing Iris’s frown to deepen. "Altaria is a Dragon Type, not a Fairy Type."

"How does that make sense? Didn't you say you only trained Fairy Type Pokémon?"

"Correct, again. I only train Fairy Type Pokémon."

The girl literally growled at that piece of information, and she turned towards me to send me a glare before returning to stare at the flying Pokémon, grumbling. Off to the side, Cilan covered his mouth to hide a chuckle, but Ash, who was practicing with some of his Pokémon not too far away, didn't bother to hide his laughter.

"Altaria is a Fairy Type in a similar way to how Eevee is a Fairy Type," I explained, scratching behind Eevee’s ears as I leaned back in a chair. "Like how Eevee will eventually evolve into a Sylveon, Altaria can Mega Evolve and gain a dual Dragon and Fairy Type Form."

"Mega Evolution? That's when big Pokémon get even bigger, right?" Iris asked.

Huh. It seems that despite Ash evolving his Pokémon this time around, there's been one field he's been slacking in.

"Excuse me, Alex," Cilan started. "If you're willing to let me explain..?"

"Go ahead, Cilan."

He smiled and began to describe the process of Mega Evolution to Iris, using far too many food puns as he did.

As it stood, all of us had relocated ourselves to Cynthia's villa, a simple yet fancy home that was seemingly designed solely for the sake of relaxation. A vast garden stretched out around its grounds, with the house itself positioned above a short cliffside overlooking the ocean. Behind, where we were currently hanging out, Cynthia had her own series of private battlefields and a large swimming pool right next to them. All of our Pokémon were out, either running around and playing, splashing in the water, or training with some of my Elite Pokémon alongside Ash. Between all of the cheerful laughter and sounds of splashing water, there was also the constant sound of Carbink's voice as they told the stories of all of our adventures to a rapt audience.

As for the Pokémon Ash and his friends had, I was happy to see that there had been more obvious signs of development on their teams than what had been shown in the anime. Not only did Ash have an Emboar rather than just a Tepig, but his Oshawott had evolved into a Dewott, and his Boldore was currently a Gigalith. For Cilan’s and Iris's teams, I honestly had trouble remembering what they had carried with them before. However, a Simisage, the evolved form of Pansage, was clearly new, and I doubted Iris had such a burly Druddigon before.

Druddigon, huh? I wonder how Winston is doing.

"...and all of that is possible with the appropriate Mega Stone and Key Stone," Cilan said, finishing his explanation.

"Key Stones being like this one." I held up my wrist, exposing my bracer. “Or the one Ash has, too."

There was a moment's pause. Both Cilan and Iris stared at me blankly.

"WHAT? ASH HAS A KEY STONE?!" they shouted in unison.

Off in the distance, a flock of Pidove flew out of a tree.

The pair of traveling companions immediately left my side to rush over to where Ash was practicing with his Gigalith and Krookodile alongside Ninetales. They swarmed him, going right up to his face. Ninetales chuffed while Krookodile moved over to Gigalith. The heavy crocodilian Ground Type adjusted its red sunglasses to better watch the scene, amused.

"Why did you never tell us you had a Key Stone?" Cilan practically begged.

"How come you never used a Mega Evolution against me in our match?!" Iris cried.

Ash looked between the two of them, blinking and surprised. He held up his hands out of self-defense, chuckling ever so nervously as he did.

"I, uh, forgot?" he offered.

"YOU FORGOT?!"

Another flock of Pidove left nearby trees. I was surprised to see some had stuck around.

"Well, I only have the stone to Mega Evolve Charizard, and he's still in Charicific Valley—"

"A Charizard? The Dragon Type Charizard?" Iris asked.

"Actually, Charizard is only a Dragon Type when it Mega Evolves into its X form," I called out.

My addition didn't seem to help save Ash from Iris's annoyance at all.

"Show me, show me, show me!" Iris cried.

Meanwhile, Cilan just righted himself and pretended to casually adjust his cuffs and tie.

"A demonstration of Mega Evolution would be quite a sweet treat on a warm day like this," he spoke as if he weren't interested.

Ash looked between them nervously, then, out of the corner of his eye, his gaze locked on me.

"Alex is the Mega Evolution master here! Have Alex do it!" he shouted.

The pair of trainers harassing Ash turned my way, and they gained a certain glint in their eyes. Slowly, they began to stalk forward as I stood up and placed Eevee in the chair I had just been sitting in. I backed up as Iris and Cilan approached with seemingly malicious intentions.

“Alex...” Cilan whispered, almost in a sing-song voice.

“A Mega Evolution Master?” Iris whispered.

A cold chill pressed against my neck. I took another step back.

"Ah, I could, uh, maybe if I—"

"Alex!"

Everyone froze. The aged voice of Jervis called out my name.

"The Young Miss wishes to see you in the parlor!" he called out.

I used the opportunity for what it was: a chance to escape. As fast as I could, I turned around and left to enter Cynthia's house, only briefly waving my hand.

"I'll show off Mega Evolution when I get back! Alright, okay, bye!"

The last thing I heard before I disappeared past a set of fancy double doors was a reluctant sigh from Cilan and Iris admonishing Ash for his poor memory before calling him a kid once more.

The inside of Cynthia’s villa was rich yet tasteful. Cynthia hadn’t invested in any meaningless signs of wealth; she had simply ensured everything she purchased looked nice and was of high quality. Out of all of the room here, she certainly hadn’t skimped out on the kitchen, which took up half the building and was where Jervis worked in for most of the day.

(There was a reason Cynthia had sold this place as a vacation, after all.)

The sitting room of Cynthia’s house was just past a short hallway and a few doors to the kitchen itself. I found the Champion sitting in a chair, wearing a light-blue blouse, eating what looked to be her third bowl of ice cream for the day, if the two bowls next to her had any clues for that matter.

“Alex. Hello,” she said, spooning one last bite into her mouth before putting the bowl down. “Mm. I just got off a call with Sycamore. Diancie accepted, and she’ll be here shortly once she’s finished with her current round of tutors.”

“Tutors?” I asked.

“Volunteer Ace Trainers and other trustworthy League employees who’ve been helping Diancie be better prepared for future interactions with humans,” she explained. “It was to my understanding that it was her that requested them to further her education, and the Kalos Pokémon League now has their own small embassy in the Diamond Domain as a result.”

“Huh. Wow.”

“I know, right? Ah, I wish Sinnoh had a Legendary Pokémon we could exchange information with like that. Unfortunately, the Lake Guardians only allow small outposts on their shores at best, and the rest are either too timid or too involved in their personal roles to set up anything permanent.”

I blinked in surprise at that.

“What about Lake Valor? There was a whole resort there, and the Wallace Cup took place on its shores!”

Cynthia shrugged.

“Azelf likes contests and people-watching. They haven’t interacted much with anyone, otherwise.”

Without me asking for it, Jervis stepped into the room to hand me a cup of tea, which I was surprised to learn I actually quite enjoyed. I eyed him suspiciously, considering he had somehow made a drink I liked without ever asking for my preferences, but then after taking only a sip, Cynthia stood up and moved over to a wall.

“I have a phone in every room for emergencies. Here, I’ve given Sycamore my number already.”

A small cubby in the wall opened up, revealing a video phone not too unlike those that existed in every Pokémon Center. She turned it on and waited a moment as I stood to join her by its side. Only half a minute passed before the machine whirred with noise, and, after a clunk, a pure red ball appeared within the video phone’s lower glass case.

I immediately recognized the ball as a Cherish Ball.

Cherish Balls were special—they were specifically designed to be the opposite of a Master Ball. Where Master Balls would unerringly catch whatever Pokémon they targeted, Cherish Balls were purposefully weak and could only contain Pokémon that were willing. Park and Safari balls were similar to a lesser degree, though those were specifically designed to help stymy poaching. For Cherish Balls in particular, however, their primary use was to facilitate quick transfer of rare or powerful Pokémon that could absolutely not be permanently captured.

The very moment Cynthia opened up the machine’s glass case was the very moment the ball broke open. A burst of light, and the Pokémon inside demonstrated just how weak the ball was as it coalesced besides us in the room.

A thick, rocky body covered with crystals floated into the air, and a humanoid upper half stretched out its arms and yawned. A large, pink crystal on the Pokémon’s head tinkled slightly with the shift, and Diancie opened her eyes with a bright smile.

“Friend!” she sent telepathically once she saw me waiting. Her eyes sparkled as they flicked over to Cynthia as well. “New friend!”

Cynthia sent Diancie a friendly smile right back.

“Hello, Diancie,” she said. “Thank you for coming here. I appreciate you responding so willingly.”

“It’s nice to see you again,” I added.

Diancie nodded, and she clenched one of her small hands tight in excitement.

“Been training,” she sent. “Want to help. No one... No one goes through same ever again!”

“Giovanni won’t be able to hurt Meloetta. Not if we can help it,” I replied.

The smile Diancie sent us was surprisingly sharp. It seemed that her past experience against Lysandre and her time with her tutors had done wonders for her confidence.

We moved back to where the chairs had been set up, not even ten feet away. Cynthia and I sat down while Diancie moved over to an armchair and flopped down into it. It was amusing to see a Pokémon that could normally levitate rest in a padded chair like that. The length of her stony lower half made her head stick up far above us, but her face relaxed as she settled into the soft cushions.

“Snacks?” Cynthia offered.

“Please,” Diancie replied. “Trade slow. Rarely get. Live in cave.”

“It’s a nice cave, though,” I said right back.

Her eyes sparkled.

“Beautiful cave. Home.”

Jervis stepped into the room to deliver what Cynthia promised. A small table was set up next to Diancie with a plate of freshly baked cookies for her to munch on at her leisure. As for Cynthia, he collected her bowls of ice cream, and they were replaced with a tray of cookies that Cynthia started to take from one at a time without even giving it a thought.

I got some too, and, I had to admit, they were really delicious.

“We’ve confirmed Meloetta is actually here, right?” I asked once the small talk was done and out of the way.

“Yes. Spiritomb has noticed slight shifts in the air that would denote a hidden Pokémon, and my villa’s infrared cameras have explicitly picked her up, lingering around Ash.”

I shivered at the mention of her terrifying Ghost Type, especially since not a single member on my team had noticed it watching us. I pushed past that thought and leaned forward, preparing myself to properly speak.

“So I should probably start explaining what I know, since everyone’s here, then,” I started, nervously.

“With everyone here, we can make a plan. None of us want Meloetta to be captured and used against her will,” Cynthia replied.

“Then, where to begin...” I scratched my cheek as everyone stopped eating to listen, their expressions going serious. “Giovanni wants to use Meloetta to access ancient ruins and pull up an artifact of immense power. I can’t remember the specific details—it’s been too long—but what I can remember, however, is that it’ll happen at any time. From what I saw, Ash and his friends were here, in your villa, with Meloetta when everything began. Giovanni will attack in an attempt to capture Meloetta, and he’ll likely succeed before summoning the ruins themselves up to the surface. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what the ruins were, and I can’t remember what the artifact was, either. All I know is that it involved Meloetta, and I’m pretty sure the Forces of Nature showed up, too.”

“Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus,” Cynthia listed off.

Diancie tilted her head, confused, and Cynthia brought up an electronic pad from between the cushions of her chair to pull up a picture of the Legendary trio. I caught a glimpse of what was displayed, and, notably, the image appeared to be a painted, artist’s depiction of the three Legendary Pokémon taken from a crumbling wall of an ancient ruin.

Seems like Cynthia’s putting her archaeological interest to good use.

“Now, while I can’t recall exact details of what happened from the show, I can recall a potentially helpful detail from the games,” I continued. “There was a postgame area right outside of Undella Town where vast, underwater ruins stretched out. I have faint memories of the platform everyone fought on being in the water, so my guess is that Giovanni will have Meloetta raise the ruins in the ocean.”

“It’s funny you mention that,” Cynthia said, rubbing her chin. “Part of the reason I chose to build my villa here was specifically due those ruins’ proximity. It seems like this is less of a coincidence than I originally thought.”

“It could also just be nonsense involving Ash getting up to more Legendary encounters thanks to his weird connection to fate. I mean, have you seen half the stuff he gets up to?”

“You get up to stuff, too,” Cynthia pointed out. I let out a long, drawn out sigh in response.

“The difference is that stuff happens because I’m stupid, and even if I don’t do it intentionally, most of my travels end up bringing me to those places, like it or not. My otherworldly background means I’m educated on the topic of Legendaries and weird, niche mysteries. Due to that, I’m more likely to notice when they come up compared to others.”

At this point, Diancie looked a little lost, especially with our comments about Ash. She’d already been informed about wanting to help Meloetta before, so she’d been read in on the upcoming mess with Giovanni but not much else. Seeing that, I sighed again—mostly due to exasperation about Ash’s adventures—and Cynthia and I started to fill her in about the things he’d been up to so she’d get the necessary context.

“Well, I think his first major encounter had to be with a certain Psychic Legendary in Kanto...” I said.

“Lance mentioned meeting Ash several times across a few different regions...” Cynthia added.

“He’s technically seen Ho-oh right when he started his journey...”

“There was that encounter in Alto Mare...”

“Team Aqua and Magma in Hoenn...”

“Hunter J in Sinnoh...”

“He saved the world as part of a prophecy in Shamouti...”

“He helped save Alamos Town alongside Steven...”

“Celebi sent him back in time where he met with a young Professor Oak...”

Cynthia blinked.

“Wait, really?”

I paused.

“Okay, that one’s probably a little personal. I won't go into details there.”

After listing off so many of Ash’s achievements and adventures, we turned back to Diancie, who was staring at us with sparkling eyes. She seemed to be in utter awe, which was terrifying, given we were just describing everything Ash had been up to. I really hoped she didn’t plan to get up to anywhere near as much crazy stuff as Cynthia and I just said..

“Enough about Ash,” I said after what felt like hours of talking about his capabilities but was only a few minutes. “We do need a plan to handle Giovanni.”

“Easy. We go with the flow,” Cynthia immediately replied.

I paused once again.

“You’re kidding.”

“Not in the slightest.”

Cynthia took this moment to bite into another cookie as I stared at her, waiting for a more in depth explanation. As she did, Diancie did the same, mimicking her action of eating a cookie almost exactly.

“We can’t bring in Ace Trainers without alerting him, and actively defending Meloetta and the rest would cause him to become too wary. Any major actions we take risks having him call off his plan, which we can’t afford given the chance we have here today. He doesn’t know we know about his plan, nor does he know we’re ready to step in if needed. Giovanni is far too paranoid about staying undetected for us to take any major actions. We simply have to be ready to act when the time comes, and compared to what you saw before, Alex—” Cynthia stopped talking for a second to tilt her head to side in thought. “Was anyone else here when this went down before?”

“Only Dawn,” I replied.

“Dawn? Really?” Cynthia looked amused, as if weighing her alternate self’s decision. “Had she won the Grand Festival?”

“Not yet.”

More discussion after that, with Diancie chiming in here and there (literally, at times). After several arguments about what we could do about this situation, I was unfortunately swayed to Cynthia’s side.

There was nothing we could do. Giovanni was far too paranoid to let us make any extensive plans. There was a reason the man had gone as long as he did without being captured, and there was a reason that Team Rocket had gone from a collection of thugs to the international terrorist organization that it was now. Our plan solely consisted of Cynthia, Diancie, and I being nearby, ready to fight when everything eventually went down. This was the Pokémon League’s only immediate chance to capture him, and because of that, we genuinely could not afford to risk it with any greater plans.

I was the backup. A second elite trainer contributing had to be enough to weigh the odds in our favor.

“And Diancie?” I asked. “Did we make a mistake inviting her here?”

Cynthia shook her head.

“If there’s a single flaw of Giovanni’s, it’s that he’s easily blinded by greed. Powerful Pokémon, Legendaries especially, always tend to be central to his plans. Diancie is strong enough to help weigh the odds in our favor, and Giovanni is likely to see her as a bonus prize to be captured rather than an enemy he’ll have to deal with. I imagine that for this situation, she’ll likely be targeted early on in an attempt to capture her.” Cynthia turned in her chair to look Diancie’s way. Her expression became one of both guilt, remorse, but, also, quiet thanks. “When Alex brought this proposal up, I initially agreed to this knowing your capabilities, but I also selfishly knew you’d be serving as bait. If you don’t want to take the risk, I understand. Say the word, and we can send you back, recalling you to Unova after—”

Diancie pounded a fist against her chest to interrupt Cynthia, giving her a confident smile.

“Strong. Will help. Bad guys always lose.”

Cynthia laughed.

“Yes, they always tend to, don’t they?”

A few more minutes passed, and we confirmed our plan: nothing. We simply had to act accordingly when the time came, even though being so unprepared grated against everything I knew. With that set (well, with nothing set), we stood up to call a break here. Cynthia said she’d be staying back for now, and Diancie and I began to head out so I could introduce her to the group.

“Thank you again for agreeing to help out. I’m really sorry that your first encounter out of Kalos will be a fight.”

“Like to fight!” She replied. “Am strong!”

That was a good sign, all things considering.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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From a distance away, Cynthia watched Alex leave her house to introduce Diancie to Ash, Iris, Cilan, and all of their Pokémon. Seeing trainers with such potential brought a smile to her face, and she knew she could leave the start of this encounter firmly in their hands.

That was the thing weighing on her mind: Cynthia was the Champion of Sinnoh. For all of the criminal mastermind Giovanni was, she knew he wouldn’t want to start anything while she was still around. Her team was too much of a lever; they were too strong to act against while she was still here. She knew for a fact Giovanni wouldn’t begin until he was confident she was far away, and she knew that, as it stood, it would be better in the end if Giovanni made his move right now while everyone else was actively grouped up.

So, Cynthia left.

“Off for a walk, Miss?” Jervis asked as she threw on her classic, thick, black coat.

(Best to be dressed properly for the occasion, she mused.)

“Just taking one of my usual walks through the forest. Make sure to hold down the fort while I’m gone,” she replied.

Jervis bowed his head. “Of course,” he said. At that, Cynthia sent him a thankful smile, and then, she was off.

Cynthia walked in a straight line away from her villa, using her long strides to her advantage. She intended to make as much distance as she could as fast as possible, moving in such a way that her intentions weren’t obvious.

She was alone, but Cynthia wasn’t particularly worried. While not the owner of these lands, the presence of her manse ensured the safety of the wild Pokémon of these parts. Unova’s Route 13 was able to remain relatively unthreatened thanks to the efforts of her little known Braviary and Eelektross, two Unova-native Pokémon that chose to remain here even when Cynthia was gone. As Pokémon she’d befriended on her trips here, she did consider them part of her team, but they much preferred to stay in their home region, and Jervis did his best to take care of them while she was gone.

It was rare they got to battle, but, today, she imagined they’d be hard at work picking off any grunts who tried to run.

Several long minutes passed. Cynthia managed to move far away from her secondary home.

The forest went silent.

Hssssss.

A whisper—something cold caressed the back of Cynthia’s ear.

“I know. I heard them too,” Cynthia told her Spiritomb.

She felt the chilling shadows coil over and through the stone kept in her pocket. Both she and her Pokémon were on high alert. The classic sounds of Pidove and the uncommon Taillow were oddly absent, unlike what she would hear on her usual walks, and the occasional noise coming from a rustling bush seemed out of place.

When it came to walks like these, Cynthia went on them enough that she knew what to expect. These eastern routes of Unova, Route 13 especially, were special in that many species usually endemic to other regions could be found here. Tangela swung from branch to branch, Solrock and Lunatone buzzed around the ocean cliffsides. Sometimes, if she was lucky, she could see a group of Drifblim floating past her in the skies.

Cynthia was also aware of a group of Absol that lived in these parts. They rarely approached her outside of getting her help when trouble started. She recalled a point in the past where a pair of them had run up to her to ask for assistance. Part of a beach cliffside had collapsed, and, thanks to them, she was able to step in with Braviary and Garchomp to rescue a group that had been trapped on an inlet shore.

Right now, there were no Pokémon playing, and there were no quiet, red eyes of wild Absol observing her from deeper in the woods. It was quiet, still, and eerily absent of anything outside herself moving through the forest.

It was wrong. Unfortunately, it was expected.

CRACK!

A stick broke behind Cynthia. She slowly turned her head to where a man was frozen, stepping on a broken branch. Knowing Spiritomb, they had probably positioned the object there just to cause that noise to be made. She could feel the buzzing amusement coming from her pocket.

Amused as well, Cynthia stopped walking, and she took in the person who had decided to disturb her peaceful jaunt.

“Champion,” a man said respectfully but filled with nerves.

Cynthia raised an eyebrow as she looked over what he wore.

A black cap. A dark uniform. Gloves as dark as night and a red “R” emblazoned on his chest.

It was blatantly obvious the man was a member of Team Rocket. Realizing she knew, he took a step forward, and Cynthia idly glanced around to take in the dozens of other, similarly dressed men and women actively moving to surround her behind the trees.

“You know, when I went for a walk, I had hoped nothing like this would happen today,” she said to no one in particular, receiving low and threatening laughter in reply. “A beautiful sun, a beautiful forest... I quite enjoy the sights the region of Unova has to offer.”

She sighed, bringing a hand up to rest against her cheek. As she did, she was able to subtly palm a Pokéball in her hand and hide it against her skin. She glanced around, honestly not too threatened, and the sounds of Pokéballs being activated rang out around her.

The forest almost seemed to glow white from the flashes of the thugs releasing the members of their teams.

“Boss said to delay ya’,” the exposed grunt said.

“Your boss? Giovanni?” Cynthia asked. Seeing the man stiffen at her words made this situation that much more entertaining. “It really seems he went all out for his plans today.”

“What? What’re you—”

“I see now that you all intend to battle me here,” Cynthia said, pushing through the rude interruption. “Is your loyalty to your boss that high? Or, is it loyalty to money? Is this simple mercenary work, or is it something more? Hm. Houndoom, Golbat, Mightyena... I see that the thirty or so of you have brought some quality Pokémon to try to keep me here today. I don’t suppose we could delay this until we reach a more official setting? Have a series of one-on-one battles with a Pokémon Center nearby?”

The laughter that followed told her that none of them would follow her up on that idea.

“A shame.” Cynthia sighed. “Then, before we start, let me ask you all a single question: Are you sure you want to do this?”

A moment’s pause.

That single man—likely the leader—grimaced before pointing forward.

“Get her!” he screamed.

Darkness—Spiritomb released their Night Shade. Dozens of attacks went towards Cynthia, only to hit nothing. When the move faded, she was gone, and, in her place, there was a rather intimidating team of five.

Garchomp growled. Roserade bristled. Lucario said nothing, and Togekiss flexed her wings.

The last Pokémon, a Pokémon Cynthia was still training up, caused the air around her to cool down several degrees as Glaceon flexed her innate cryokinesis. She might not have been considered to be at the same level as the rest, but there had been a reason Cynthia had been able to recommend a quality Eevee breeder to Alex in the past.

“This will be good practice for you all,” Cynthia’s voice rang out as Spiritomb hid her from the fight. “Do as you will, keep injuries to a minimum, and finish them off fast. We have to get back to face Giovanni soon, after all.”

The grunts of Team Rocket took several steps back as the Champion’s Pokémon took only a single step forward. No one moved after that for a long moment. Then, all hell broke loose.

Honestly, the following battle was rather one-sided.

I love it when a plan comes together, Cynthia thought.

============================================================
Author Note:

I’m intending to include the entire encounter with Giovanni on Thursday. If there is a cliffhanger, feel free to throw your worst insults at me.

Also! After the next chapter, expect a certain meta-announcement to be made. Before heading into it, it might be good to think about your favorite Type...

Pokémon mentioned in this chapter (contains spoilers):
Absol
Boldore / Gigalith
Braviary
Charizard
Dragonite
Drifblim
Druddigon
Eelektross
Glaceon
Krookodile
Meloetta
Oshawott / Dewott
Pansage / Simisage
Pidove
Solrock / Lunatone
Taillow
Tangela
Tepig / Emboar
Thundurus / Tornadus / Landorus

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